Monster
by Writer of the Fiction of Fans
Summary: When an evil witch has turned Karkat into a troll-like beast, who can save him?  Love is the only way to break the spell, but who could ever love a beast?  Perhaps a boy from the village near-by...  Beauty and the Best au
1. Chapter 1

**Soooooo, hey guys~ This idea just totally whammed me in the face one day, and i thought it was good, so i wrote it! :D I kinda am not the proudest of this chapter, but i literally already wrote it three times, and i like this version the best, so I'm gonna use it! Whoo~ I promise it'll get better and make more sense later on! Like, the writing will get better next chapter, i swear.**

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><p>Hope was nearly lost, and the pain of it all was starting to sink in. He knew it was a very common stereotype to blame ones self for this sort of thing, but in his case, it really was his fault. All of the fault was his. <em>All<em> of it. And there wasn't a god dammed thing he could do about it. Now, all of his friends were cursed, along with himself branded...as monsters. The cruel twist of fate that had brought them to what they were today, was his fault. The curse that had left him and his friends warped and twisted.

God, his past self was such an arrogant fool, so righteous and egotistical. He was such a moron, completely indulged with himself, and he disregarded everyone else. How he had even retained friends was beyond him. And then that...that trickster showed up at his doorstep. An old woman, desperately pleading for him to let her inside, but he didn't. Not because she was old and disgusting, though she certainly was, it was because she looked...off. Like she would start going off and stabbing people in the god damn eye any second. But no, he couldn't reject her 'nicely,' he had to go and do it in the rudest way possible. God, did he really even expect anything else from himself, though?

Ironically enough, it had been someone that he should have been avoiding. Unluckily for everyone, _she_ had found _him._

Her disgusting exterior had melted away into a sort of deadly beauty that seemed to come naturally to her. She had been tall, elegant, cloaked in shadows, and the only thing he could see was her glittering black eyes, and the dress that looked like the nighttime sky had been transformed into. And she had taken everything away from him-from _them_.

The painful transformation into what he had become had been burned into his mind. His skull felt like it was exploding, and his hands cracked and elongated. All his joints had popped, and sounded like gunfire, and he felt a horrible burning sensation in his skin. Ripping and peeling sensations were littered all over his body, and there were just never ending tides of pain that lapped at his consciousness.

Death would have been a blessing to the horrible pain he had been put through.

There was only one good thing about this situation, and that was that everyone was brought even closer to each other than before.

He gazed stoically out one of the many windows in his castle, wondering when.

When would he finally give up.

When would he realize that no one was ever going to save him.

When would he notice that things were only getting worse.

When would he see that hope is something worthless?

It sucks you dry, occupying your every thought. It's worse than giving up, because when you give up, you don't _feel_. When you can't feel pain or sorrow or happiness it's easier on the mind. Hope is everything bad, everything terrible. It's good for nothing but endless agony, and it does nothing but fester deep in your chest. It feels great, but when that sudden realization comes crashing down-that no one can ever help you-it's like dying. And then you keep dying, because your hope keeps getting renewed, it's an endless cycle of pain.

But the pain is what keeps him sane. He'd rather feel than not, he'd rather cry everyday than to never feel anything ever again. He was a leader, the one person that everyone depended on. He needed to be strong for them, if not for himself. Losing hope was easy, cowardly. It took a real man to do what he has; to keep hope in the darkest of places, to return from the depths of his self-loathing to help everyone.

To be happy.

Happiness, the cruelest of emotions.

It seems so easy to be happy, it does, but when everything precious has been taken from you, when you realize that you have nothing left...to be happy then is heroic. It comes to you, finally, and you feel it's wings lifting you up, but that only makes it worse when you fall down again.

A single tear leaks out of the corner of his eye, blood red, for reasons unbeknownst to him. Suddenly a speck of movement draws his eye to the gates. Someone was coming in.

Someone was coming.

He stood up violently, knocking over his chair in the process, the inner musings of his mind instantly forgotten. Dinner was being made, and no doubt that whoever it was, was hungry. He ran for the stairs, going as fast as he could, skidding across the marble flooring as he ran. He burst into the main dining hall and everyone looked at him.

"Someone's at the main gate," he breathed.

Everything became silent, and no one moved. A single, sturdy knock resounded through the door. Then, without warning, the door was being opened.

"Hello? Anyone here?" The voice itself sounded rather cool and collected, almost monotonous in its own way. Everyone hid because no one wanted him to leave. Every person, except one.

A man with pale hair and skin walked through the entryway. His eyes landed on the beast, and he screamed. Sudden anger filled the beast, he wanted nothing more than to break the stupid boy. Tears of rage filled his eyes, and his sharp teeth were making little cuts in his lip. His claws were digging into his palms, almost hard enough to draw blood. He slowly walked the human back into the wall, lifting one fist into the air. The boy had gone silent, and fear was making him smaller.

"If you're going to kill me, at least make it quick." The words were meant to sound strong, but they sounded hollow. He didn't want to die today.

"Karkat, don't."

He felt the hand of Terezi on his shoulder. His fist dropped, limp, at his side. He angrily wiped at the mess on his face. "Take him to the dungeons or some shit."

"What about a room?"

"That works too." He turned to look at the cowering boy. "Get your sorry ass out of my sight."

Thankfully he could follow orders, and he left with Terezi. Karkat himself followed, and went to his room again.

He had no idea what he had been expecting from the human. He had forgotten the shock his appearance cause, he himself having already being desensitized.

It didn't matter. And that's what he keeps forgetting.

No matter how much he wants it, no matter how hard he can try, nobody with a reaction like that will ever fall in love with him. It was just another stupid mistake. But perhaps one day, someone will find him, and react with something besides fear and disgust.

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><p><strong>Whoop. You made it through the shit-fest! Good for you! Seriously, good for you. That was kind of terrible, especially near the end...<strong>

**In case you did like it, i have a tumblr that keeps track my writing and how im doing! It's : homestuckmonsterfanfic . tumblr . com**

**so original, I know. Anyways, i just put it there, and i don't really expect anyone to follow it this early in the story, but if you do, that's great! :D**

**~Sammi :D**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: omg, i actually managed to forget what i named this story. :/ WHOOPS. so MONSTER is actually not the title of this story...al;sdkhfa;ksjdf i fail, im so sorry! XD

I just want you guys to know that you are literally perfect. Like, I had absolutely no idea this would get so much attention in such a short span of time. Ever since I have put the story up there were a minimum of five people reading/looking at it a _day_! I mean, I know that not everyone who clicked on it read it, but still! :'D

If you guys want to look at the tumblr account I made for this, it's: http:/ homestuckmonsterfanfic . tumblr . com/ I post updates on what i do, if anyone draws any fanart I'll put it there, or really whatever! You guys are beautiful! (:B

SHOUT-OUTS~

**Gambro**: Oh, thank you! I really have no intentions of stopping any time soon, so you're covered! :D

**Clockwork-Ceni**: Oh, god, thank you for saying that! I was really worried that I was laying it on too thick, or that I was just dragging it on for too long. Thank you for your love~ :'D

**honkHONKhonkHONKhonk**: ...That's actually a really good idea, but alas, they aren't! But...well this is a fairytail AU that I'm working on, and the Felt Mansion is in another story! heehee~

**Hoookahbird**: Ohmygoodgollygod, thank you so much for saying that! Like I said before, I was really worried about the intro! Well, I hope you are equally as happy with this chapter! :D

**Otakusama Rengette**: Is this soon enough? :B heehee, well, Karkat is just what his troll!cannon self is! :( Sorry to disappoint you if I did!

**anon**: Dear, sweet, awesome anon, I would actually still read yours if you did! Everyone does something different, and I bet yours would still be totally awesome~ :D

**Mtsr**: *sobs deeply* THANK YOU, DEARIE. :'D

**PlatoBear7-YaoiFanBoy892**: Your name is looong~ XD You thought of this too? Awesome; great minds think alike~ :D Well, this is actually going to be a mixture of the book, the movie, and my own interpretation of the story! :D I hope you like it...!

**Anonymous**: You're so sweet! And of course I'll continue! :D

**YOU ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE. :'D**

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><p>A young boy in blue was pacing restlessly, chewing his lip in worry. The wood of the floorboards squeaked in protest, the wood drooping where he walked. It was his problem corner, and pacing was how he worked out his problems. He made a frustrated noise, then fell to his bottom, hiding his face in his knees, blocking out the world.<p>

Another child was sitting at the table, regally drinking tea, eyeing the boy with worry. She set her cup down onto the saucer, and got up to go and comfort the boy.

"John, he'll be fine, really. When has something ever gone wrong with Dave? He'll be back in no time, probably bragging about his plethora of new suitors. In fact, that may very well be the reason he's been gone for so long. When he greets us, he may very well be holding a dame worthy of his amorous intentions. You understand how picky he is."

To be perfectly honest though, she was worried. Maybe almost as worried as John was. She was just better at hiding it than she was.

"But Rose. He's in the Dark Forest. The only reason people don't come out of there is because...it's because they're dead."

Rose's hand momentarily paused it's soothing rubbing, seeming to be stuck on his lower back. "That's preposterous. He's just as likely get struck by lightning than get killed, you know that." She gave him a small sarcastic smile, but John still saw the paleness in her face at his sudden words. He leaned into Rose's side, taking comfort in her warmth and closeness. She relaxed as well, taking the same comfort as he was. "He just can't be gone Rose. I don't know what would happen if he doesn't come back."

Rose lifted his head firmly but gently. "John, he will most definitely come back. He has been through that forest multiple times, and has yet to run into any problems."

"But Rose, he's never, ever, _ever_ been this late before. I'm so worried."

He got a light smack to the head, and he made a small noise of protest, and swatted Rose's hand away. She left him in his corner, as he didn't want her company anymore, and went to clean up the dishes. John just continued to sit there in his little corner, his eyebrows drawn heavily over his eyes, and teeth nibbling away at his lip. His fingers gently tapped out a syncopated beat on his legs, and his feet tapped periodically. The intense bout of concentration lasted for about five minutes, and then he blanched. Soon steely determination was locked into his gaze, and he sprang up, one fist raised in the air.

"Rose, I know what I'm going to do!"

She lifted one eyebrow at him, and gently set the porcelain plates she was holding down. "Oh you do? Now tell me, oh brave and mighty John, what will you do to save Dave from the dark clutches of the horrible terrors that lie deep within the clutches of the forest?"

He faltered a little at her mention of horrible terrors, but lifted again. "I'm going in after him. That's what I'm going to do!"

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes. Yes, that's what I'm going to do! Besides, what if he's just stuck, all injured and stuff, and no one is there to help him! Then all the sudden, I'll show up, and he'll be saved!"

Rose sighed heavily. "John, are you sure you can handle that? Despite what they all say about the forest, it isn't haunted by trolls demanding marriage. However, it is still very dangerous, and I have to admit I don't want to see you go. Actually I never even wanted Dave to go, but you know how pig-headed he can be sometimes."

"Rose, I just. I have this _feeling_ that he needs me. I-I can't just deny that. It's eating me alive, and I can't eat, and I can't sleep, he needs me."

Rose gave him a long suffering look, her eyebrows drawn over her eyes in a rarely seen show of concern. She sat heavily in a nearby chair, and rubbed out the stress lines accumulating at the corners of her mouth and around her eyes. "John, I understand what you're saying. I just- can you at least think it over before you do something rash?"

"I _have_ been thinking it over, Rose. I've been thinking about it since the day he was late! _He was supposed to be here a week ago._ So many things could've happened to him while we just sit here and twiddled our thumbs! I can't just be here anymore, doing jack. In fact, I refuse to. I'm going to go and find him and you can't change my mind."

"John."

"_What?_"

"Please...please be safe. I don't think I could handle it if you didn't come back, either. And Jade...she'll be absolutely crushed. She can barely cope with Dave missing, imagine what will happen if you magically disappear as well."

"I...I'll be just fine. Like you said, there's nothing out there that can hurt me. Not super natural things, anyways. Although I wouldn't really mind seeing a few ghosts."

Rose chuckled dryly. "You say that now, but wait until you come face to ectoplasm with one. What will you do then?"

"It doesn't matter. I guess...I guess I'll go and start packing my things, then?"

"That might be a good idea, yes."

"Right, so I'm gonna go start to pack now."

"You do that, John."

"Right."

"Mm."

After another awkward pause, John left, a determined angle to the down-swoop of his mouth, and determination set within the thrust of his chin. He grabbed the first available bag and started loading it up with all of the necessary supplies; clothes, bathing materials, and whatever he thought he might need. After all of his personal things were packed he grabbed a medical kit, and various other medical instruments that he may need.

He ventured into the kitchen and started rummaging through all of his cabinets looking for some dried food that he might be able to take with him. Well really he just grabbed anything that was dried or lasted a long time, but nobody really needed to know that. Rose was watching him, leaning on the doorframe, a skeptical look on her normally amiable face, a scowl probably on its way as well.

Once he packed everything he thought he might possibly ever want, he finally turned back to Rose, saluted her, and turned to walk out the door. She, however, didn't have the same plans as him. A vice-like grip locked around his middle, and he huffed in surprise.

"Please be safe John."

The rarely seen affection emulating from Rose almost made him teary, but he graciously returned the hug, and nodded.

"When Jade finally comes out of her room," he paused to sniffle, and his voice cracked, "tell her that I miss her already, okay?"

"Of course, John."

"Thank you so much Rose. You know I would march right over there if she wasn't locked in her closet, right?"

"I know John, don't worry. I doubt anything would penetrate her in this state, anyways. However, I do think you should say _something_. It would be rude to just leave."

"Right. I'll just stop over there on my way to the forest."

He exited the building, and stopped at the house next door. He walked up to the front door, and knocked hesitantly. After a few moments of nothing but silence, he knocked again. After more silence, he called out. "Jade. Jade, I'm going to go and find Dave. I'll be back soon with him, don't you worry."

Still nothing, and he sighed and walked away. He didn't notice the hot salty tears till they burned in the corners of his mouth. He wiped them away half-heartedly, and continued walking.

The forest loomed over him in the distance, and he felt cowed by it, even from as far away from it as he was. As he gradually got closer, the tears on his cheeks dried and turned to salt, and the feeling of being unworthy and insufferably tiny only grew. When he finally got to the edge of the treeline, the dark shadows within seemed to writhe and call his name. The beckoned with sharp, angry claws, and whispered sweet seductive whispers in his ear.

"Follow me, follow me."

"I can lead you to what you seek."

"John. John, come this way, John..."

As he walked into a tree branch, it slapped him out of his stupor.

He was walking in the middle of the forest.

There was no path beneath his feet.

He had followed strange voices telling him where to go.

He was so fucked.

And he never said goodbye to Jade...

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><p>AN: Uhh, cliffie? eh, i didn't think so. XD

tell me what you think? :DDD?


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow...uh, well its been a while, huh? I'm actually really embarrassed to admit that i literally _forgot about this story_ until a few days ago, when i logged into my other email address. How do you even do that, man. So, uhm, if you guys want to keep reading, heres the update! if not, then tbh I don't really blame you. I'm really, really sorry about the wait. :c**

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><p>It was quiet all around him. There were no signs of the whispers that led him there in the first place. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, no chirps, no creaks in the wood, no sound of wind rustling the leaves. The silence was more deafening than any noise created, and it ate at him. The temperature slowly dropped, leaving him covered in goose bumps.<p>

His breath steamed, and swirled out of his mouth, and as he watched the whorls he saw a pair of eyes glow in the darkness. They were animal eyes, or at the least not human ones, for no human eyes could reflect the light in such an eerie manner. As soon as he blinked, they were gone. He whirled around to try and find them again, but no matter where he looked he could not see them. He didn't want to make a ruckus on accident and draw attention to himself so he just stayed there mutely, trying not to breathe too hard.

The silence was starting to really get to him, and the friction of rubbing his hands against his arms wasn't doing much to help him anymore. The crisp sound of cracking wood erupted from behind him, and snuffling accompanied it shortly after. A sharp snarl soon followed, and John could feel his face become colder with the sudden loss of blood, and intake of stabbing fear.

A harsh broken melody started to weave itself into the air, and the tune was haunting and made him want to claw his eyes out or puncture his ear drums, but all he could do was sit there and listen as the sound got nearer and nearer. Harsh giggles sometimes interrupted the horrific song, along with harsh, crackling intakes of breath. His hands had somehow drifted into his hair, and the pain brought him back to reality.

Soon enough, out of the shadows, a tall figure emerged. Head cocked to the side, and gangly build, it almost seemed human, until you got to its head. Underneath the wild shock of curly hair, there were two large protrusions. And the eyes, they reflected red, and that was when he knew that running was futile, but in a last ditch effort to stay alive, he tried.

His feet pounded against the frozen dirt and leaves, and his breath streamed back from his face like water, flowing between his strands of hair until they dissipated. His arms pumped rhythmically at his sides, and his heart was beating so fast with the combined efforts of exertion and fear, he was surprised it didn't rupture. Small branches whipped at his face, and shallow cuts formed, but he could care less at the moment. His eyes were darting to and fro, wondering where he could possibly hide. There was nothing at all in the woods. There was no trail, no caves, no big trees, and the worst part, no people. Tears started to blur his eyes, and when they departed, he could feel their cool streaks drifting behind the arms of his glasses.

Just as he thought he might make it somewhere, John tripped on a root, and he went down hard. The side of his face took most of the impact, and his breath whooshed out of him all at once, leaving him unable to gasp, and choking on nothingness. His ears were tuned in to every sound, every nuance of the forest around them, and yet, he didn't hear anything. Anything at all, and that was almost as scary as hearing his attacker close in on him.

And so, for a while, he laid there, just thinking. Thinking about how he got there, and how this had all happened. He thought about his life, his family, his pets, his friends. Then he started to play the blame game. First, he blamed Rose for letting him travel out here alone. Then he blamed Dave for not being able to get home on time. Then he blamed the forest for even being here in the first place. And finally, he accepted he was there, and that he was hopelessly lost, and that there was a murderous animal chasing him.

Slowly, he got back up, and as he wobbled a little, he thought about his options. Honestly, there weren't many. He could try to find a way out. He could look for other people. And those were about the only things he could do. He clutched at his throbbing temple and was dimly surprised that there wasn't any blood on his hand. He brushed the dirt off of his clothes, and looked around for the first time. There were trees, dirt, and leaves and that was all.

But then he looked harder. Wait…were those lights he saw? Was there a light in the forest, or a house? Was that the exit?

He started to brusquely walk towards it, his hope growing brighter, as the lights did. And then there were bars. There were bars, he could see them as he grew closer, and instead of making him weary it strengthened his resolve. Because if there were bars, that means that they were protection from the forest, and boy, did John need that right now. And that's when the singing started again. John didn't notice it at first, the crunch of his footsteps drowning out most other noises, but as it grew louder, it niggled in the back of his brain, until he couldn't ignore it anymore.

A cold sweat broke out onto his forehead, and he got goose bumps again. The bars were still so far away, and from the sounds of the singing, his demonic friend was getting closer and closer. Running encouraged predators, but his flight instinct was pounding in his mind, and so he started walking faster, which became a slow jog, and progressed into full-on running. Twisted, evil laughter was becoming more and more frequent, and the sound chilled him to the bone.

When he reached the gate, there was no entrance in sight, and instead he saw a small castle, almost akin to a mansion. The sight stopped him dead for a few moments, until he heard the cackling again. Then John had to pick a direction. The house appeared to be facing eastwards, so he ran to the left, praying silently that he was right. He instinctively knew he was going in the right direction when the laughter turned into screeching and yelling, anger that he was about to escape, he thought.

He sharply turned, and almost plowed into the ground again, and instead just tipping him up and slowing him down for a few moments. He ran for a little while longer, which in this drawn out torture, seemed to take millennia. And then he saw it, the miracle, the entrance. The door was ajar, and he bursted through the opening and fell for the second time. A distinct, almost petulant, wail painted the sky with deep, raw, distracting colors. John wondered briefly why it hadn't just followed him inside the gate, but that thought was dismissed quickly, and he got up to shut the gate, shaking slightly from the adrenaline.

After that was done, he turned to the castle. It was massive, and he felt tiny and out of place near it. Like he could never belong in such a place. Still, he stepped forward, and walked up to the front door. He just stood there for a while, basking the sheer enormity of it all. He reached up, and rapped his fist against the door a few times. There was no answer. He tried again, with the same results. He turned around and tried to lean on it, but it just opened, and for the third time in the span of an hour, he fell.

The inside was so posh he couldn't even imagine anyone actually living here. It was like a place of royalty, not a mansion in the middle of the Forbidden Forest.

"H-Hello?" he cried out, meekly.

There was no response, and he felt stupid. So he got to his feet and shut the door behind him.

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><p><strong>AN: yo...you made it to the end. I applaud you, bro! lemme know what you think if you want!**

**~Sammi **


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